Wee Waa News

By Jamieson Murphy Northern Daily Leader

NORTHERN landholders want the NSW government to give them the right to say no to mining companies, when the Council of Australia Governments (COAG) Energy Council meets this week.

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg will hold discussions with his state counterparts, including NSW Energy Minister Anthony Roberts, on Friday.

Gunnedah farmer and Mary’s Mount Protection Alliance chairman Phil Herbert said it was vital the meeting delivered tangible action and gave farmers, landholders and traditional owners the power to refuse mining companies access to their land.

Totally Speedway great writeup on the Newtown Park Speedway Narrabri

The strong start to the 2015-16 season continued for Shane Cartwright when he last Saturday night at Narrabri’s Newton Park Speedway triumphed in the feature race.

Despite it only being Cartwright’s second outing of the season and his first visit to the Newton Park Speedway track, he qualified third for the feature race after a third, win and a DNF (due to front-end damage after a collision with John Markulin) in his three heat races. From the drop of the green flag, Cartwright managed to work his way into the lead by the completion of the opening lap and that was where he stayed until the fall of the chequered flag.

By MARK GRIGGS Nov. 30, 2015 - The Land Newspaper

THERE would be thousands of families living along dirt roads throughout the state who are hoping their road won’t be missed in the state government’s Fixing Country Roads program.

But there wouldn’t be as many whose road had changed from regional status to a shire road such as the Bugilbone Road section of the Baradine-Collarenebri Road between Burren Junction and Pilliga which was downgraded a few decades ago.

“It is considered as one of the worst and most dangerous roads within the Walgett shire according to the Burren Junction community, says Marney O’Brien, “Nunkeri” on the Pilliga end and Philip Powell, “Lochmohr”, north of the Namoi River, Burren Junction.

By Kerrin Thomas - ABC Sydney

The state's Environmental Defenders Office has launched legal action against the State Government and Santos, over the approval of a waste treatment facility near Narrabri.

The application for a waste water treatment plant at the Leewood facility should have been viewed as outside the scope of exploration and therefore required to face a higher level of development scrutiny, according to the EDO and its client, Narrabri-based group People for the Plains.

Under State planning laws, some CSG exploration works are exempt from requiring development consent but the EDO's Principal Solicitor, Sue Higginson, said this development should not have been exempt.

She said the approval processes are significantly different.

"The process that's been applied to this development required a less onerous environmental assessment," she said.

"It also didn't provide for the full public participation that, had it gone through the full and rigorous legal assessment and procedures, we say ought have been applied."

By Jamieson Murphy Nov. 25, 2015, 9:30 p.m. - Northern Daily Leader

A NARRABRI anti-coal seam gas group is taking the energy giant Santos and the state government to court over the approval of the Leewood wastewater treatment plant in the Pilliga forest.

People for the Plains will argue the approval given to the CSG wastewater treatment plant last week is invalid.

CSG explorations works are exempt from requiring development consent under NSW planning law, but the group will argue the plant is not for the purpose of CSG exploration and required separate development consent.

They will be represented in the NSW Land and Environment Court by the NSW Environmental Defenders Office (EDO).

Principal solicitor of EDO NSW, Sue Higginson, said the case is about ensuring proper laws and development assessment processes are followed in approving such development.